The Western

An introduction to
Westerns

• Primarily dealt with life in western US

after the California gold rush of 1849.
•
• Often centred around an outlaw, group of
outlaws or heroic sheriff or bounty
hunter.
•
• Often dramatised the overcoming of our
hero over the rugged and harsh
landscape and nature of environment.
Origins
Origins

• First known western narrative

movie: “Kidnapping by
Indians” (1899)
•
• Featured what would become a
staple in the genre, “Savage
Indians”
•
•
•
Influence of
Kidnapping by Indians
Featured key traits that would be seen in
later western films

• Townspeople threatened
•
• Cowboy heroes
•
• Shootout sequence
Why Westerns grew in
popularity in the early
1900s

• Westerns became popular at a time of great

poverty and suffering
•
• Americans were looking for an escape from the
destitute reality they were in, unemployment,
the decline of the economy etc.
•
• The saw what they wanted to be in early western
films, tough, rugged ‘cowboys’ who always
overcame their unforgiving circumstances.
• They saw themselves as protagonists in these
movies, for example John Ford’s The Iron
Horse (1924)
THE HEYDAY
The period from 1940 to
1960 has been called the
"Golden Age of the Western".
It is epitomized by the work
of several prominent directors
including Robert Aldrich,
Budd Boetticher, Delmer
Daves, John Ford, and others.
 John Ford

- Stagecoach (1939)
- For Apache (1948)
- She wore a yellow Ribbon (1949)
- Rio Grande (1950)
- The Searchers (1956)
-
Starting in the silent film era, Ford learned how to
communicate without words, and he brought this
skill into the talkie film era.

Blocking.
The Iron Horse

• It is centred around the construction of America’s first transcontinental

railroad.
•
• Features a “cowboy” protagonist.
•
• The protagonists are hardworking, honest and poor Americans.
•
• Antagonist are sleuth businessmen.
John Wayne

•John Wayen - Marion Robert Morrison, professionally known as John Wayne

and nicknamed "the Duke" or "Duke Wayne", was an American actor who
became a popular icon through his starring roles in films which were
produced during Hollywood's Golden Age, especially in Western and war
movies. Wayne was a star from the start. Plucked from the prop department
by director John Ford for a walk-on in one of his films, Duke blazed ahead
with The Big Trail. A strapping 6’4 with an unmistakable drawl, Wayne
was back in the saddle for a string of indelible roles in Westerns including
Stagecoach, Red River, The Searchers, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
and True Grit for which he earned a Best Actor Oscar for his unforgettable
turn as cantankerous marshal, Rooster Cogburn. For five decades in
Hollywood, Duke was the most reliable shot to head a major picture, and
he worked regularly with the top directors of his day, including Howard
Hawks and his lifetime friend Ford, with whom he made eight Westerns. In
1960, Wayne took the reins, making his directorial debut with The Alamo
(1960) and playing frontier legend Davy Crockett. Bringing nobility,
humor and a rugged, no-holds-barred magnetism to every cowboy-hatted
hero and anti-hero, Duke personified the spirit, strength and struggle of the
American West. He was, quite simply, classic — an ace-high original.
There’s no one to fill his boots. practically did, defining the American
cowboy.
Famous
directors of
early Westerns
John Ford
“The Iron Horse”